April - June 2012 - Title IX

Since I was seven years old, sports have been a major part of my life. Through training and competing, winning and losing, and World Championships and Olympics, I have had many unique experiences that helped shape who I am today. I treasure not just the joy and fulfillment I received from skating and competing, but the lessons learned from working hard when I was tired, persevering when things didn’t go my way, getting back up when I fell, and learning to trust my team of coaches, trainers and choreographers. I’ve found that the real power of sport is not just the success on the field or the ice, but how it can be used to teach valuable lessons and create healthy habits that last a lifetime.

When I was growing up in Long Beach, California in the 1940s and '50s, it never occurred to me that I would not be treated equal to my brother, Randy Moffitt, and would not have the same opportunities as boys to succeed. When I was 12 years old, I promised myself that I would commit my life to fighting for equal rights and opportunities for men and women, boys and girls.